Can Your Enneagram Change Over Time?

Clinically Reviewed by Steven Melendy, PsyD. on August 05, 2022
Category: Enneagram

One of the most frequently asked questions about the Enneagram personality typing system is, can your Enneagram change over time? Many people are convinced that such a change is possible, based on what has occurred in their own lives or on what they’ve observed happening in the lives of others.

But is this true? Can your Enneagram change over time, as you get older and continue to accumulate transformative life experiences?

A closer examination will be necessary to answer this fascinating question.

What Is the Enneagram System?

The Enneagram system identifies the most essential characteristics of a person’s personality. Once you know someone’s Enneagram type, you’ll know a lot more about their core beliefs and primary motivations. You’ll learn how they interpret events in the world and in their own life, and how they manage the emotional reactions that are produced by what they experience.

Enneagrams emerge from a combination of genetic factors and environmental exposures. A person’s Enneagram type is established in childhood, although the role it plays in controlling their patterns of thought and behavior will become more apparent as they grow into adulthood.

As a quick reminder, the nine Enneagram personality types include:

·         Type 1: The Perfectionist

·         Type 2: The Giver

·         Type 3: The Achiever

·         Type 4: The Individualist

·         Type 5: The Investigator

·         Type 6: The Skeptic

·         Type 7: The Enthusiast

·         Type 8: The Challenger

·         Type 9: The Peacemaker

If you’ve been tested and classified under the Enneagram system, it's virtually certain you’ll recognize yourself under your identified category once you study the characteristics of your type more fully and do a deeper dive into your past actions and reactions.

But even after completing such a self-examination, you may not be entirely sure your Enneagram type is the same now as it was in the past. You may feel like your present thinking and behavioral patterns qualify you to be listed under another Enneagram category, and that this alternative classification may be a better fit given where you are currently. Your focus or emphasis may seem different than before, and that may have left you asking, can your Enneagram change as you get older?

Perhaps after years of acting like the classical Achiever (Enneagram 3), you’ve suddenly found yourself going through an existential crisis that has you thinking like the Individualist (Enneagram 4) who is constantly searching for the true meaning of life. Or maybe your long-standing Enneagram 1 perfectionism has recently been surpassed by an overwhelming desire to devote yourself to helping others, in the typical Enneagram 2 (Giver) fashion.

If you’ve experienced something like this, it may seem clear that the answer to the question ‘can your Enneagram change’ is a definitive ‘yes.’ But while that conclusion might seem to make some sense, it is based on having only a partial understanding of what the Enneagram system truly entails.

Well-Adjusted vs. Maladjusted: Grasping the True Complexity of the Enneagram Types

One way that people can become confused enough to ask ‘can your Enneagram change’ is if they fail to distinguish between mature and immature behaviors associated with specific personality types. Their ideas about the Enneagram system are too rigid, and consequently they fail to understand how people who share the same Enneagram types can still be totally different, even to the point of displaying opposite behaviors.

For example, a mature or healthy Type 1 Perfectionist will not use their high expectations as an excuse to judge themselves or others harshly, but will instead use them to lift people up as they encourage them to work hard to develop to their fullest potential. While an immature or unhealthy Perfectionist will often be quite hard on themselves and their loved ones or associates, a healthy Enneagram 1 will be patient, tolerant, inspirational, and enthusiastic, all while subtly pushing other people (and themselves) to keep reaching for the stars.

To someone who thinks of perfectionism as automatically negative, constructive behavior of the latter type might seem out of place. They might associate it with the Enneagram Type 2 personality, thinking this person is more of a Giver than a Perfectionist. Someone who has been classified as an Enneagram 1 may fail to recognize signs of personal growth in themselves, and if they’ve learned to channel their innate perfectionism in a more positive or constructive direction, they may see it as evidence that their Enneagram type has changed.

Another stark contrast can be found by comparing a healthy Enneagram 8 to an unhealthy individual of the same type. When they lack maturity and insight, the Challenger type can be overly controlling and difficult to get along with. They can become suspicious and domineering, acting in ways that others find most unpleasant.

On the other hand, a Type 8 who is more settled and secure will put their forceful personality to work for the benefit of all. They will remain strong-willed and determined to exert a creative influence over their environment, but they will do so because they’re motivated by an idealistic vision of how things can and should be made better for their friends, family members, and companions as well as for themselves.

For those who hold a cliched view of the Type 8 as overly controlling, this type of behavior might seem atypical. But such actions would actually be quite normal for a well-adjusted Challenger who is comfortable in their own skin, and mature enough to avoid the pitfalls that can bring great unhappiness into the lives of maladjusted Enneagram 8s.

The difference between a mature and immature person of any Enneagram number can be profound. Too often people hold onto negative ideas about what the various Enneagram types are really like, and that can make them think (incorrectly) that a person demonstrating positive qualities has either been mistyped or has somehow changed into another type entirely.

The Enneagram System and the Whole Human Being

Another source of confusion about the Enneagram system is that people think it has an exclusionary character. In other words, they think that if they’ve been classified as a specific number, this should somehow capture all of their personality traits.

This is an incorrect assumption. If you take a look at each of the Enneagram classifications and apply it to your own life, you’ll likely find that all of them have been reflected in your behavior and attitudes at one time or another.

Even the most committed Peacemaker (Type 9), for example, will assert their personal will in some cases as if they were a fully committed Challenger (Type 8). They will do this when they’re absolutely certain their way is the best way to make everyone happy or keep them healthy in the long run.

Likewise, the Individualist (Enneagram 4) will see themselves as separate, unique, and different for the most part, but they may still jump in and join a larger group to have some fun from time to time. In these instances their behavior might resemble the adventurous Type 7 (the Enthusiast) much more than it does the typical Enneagram 4 since they’re letting others take the lead and following along without a lot of self-reflection.

Similarly, even the most ambitious Achiever (Type 3) might occasionally step back and ask themselves if what they’ve been trying so hard to accomplish is really worth the effort. They may then adopt the approach of the typical Type 5 Investigator, first examining the work they’ve been doing more closely before moving on to analyze possible alternatives, to see which way is more likely to deliver long-term personal or professional rewards.

In truth, we could provide examples like this that show any Enneagram type seemingly acting exactly like another type, and perhaps even sustaining that behavior for an extended period. It is important to emphasize that this does not happen because someone’s dominant personality characteristic (the primary determinant of their Enneagram identification) has changed, but rather because human beings are complex creatures whose motivations can be complicated and unpredictable.

The Enneagram system is not a listing of mutually exclusive traits. It is instead like nine separate continuums, each of which has a place for every human being somewhere along their respective sliding scales. Each person will be further advanced on one of these continuums than on all the others, and that is what determines their dominant personality characteristic (and permanent Enneagram type). Nevertheless they will always maintain some sort of presence on all nine continuums, and are thus capable of acting in ways that are consistent with varying motivations.

Final Thoughts: People Can Evolve and Grow, But Enneagrams Stay the Same

So the final answer to the question, can your Enneagram change over time, is clear once you understand how the Enneagram system really works.

Your Enneagram type will not change. It is a permanent aspect of your personality, and while your behavioral patterns may be flexible your deepest and most fundamental motivations will remain the same no matter how much time passes or what kind of life situations arise.

You may express yourself differently than someone you know who shares your Enneagram type. But that only reveals how far you’ve advanced on the path to developing your complete potential as a human being, in comparison to that other person. Your Enneagram type will create a general outline for you to follow, but in the end it will be up to you to fill in the details that make your life story special and unique.

Nathan Falde

Nathan Falde has been working as a freelance writer for the past six years. His ghostwritten work and bylined articles have appeared in numerous online outlets, and in 2014-2015 he acted as co-creator for a series of eBooks on the personality types. An INFJ and a native of Wisconsin, Nathan currently lives in Bogota, Colombia with his wife Martha and their son Nicholas.

More from this author...
About the Clinical Reviewer

Steven Melendy, PsyD., is a Clinical Psychologist who received his doctorate from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. He specializes in using evidence-based approaches in his work with individuals and groups. Steve has worked with diverse populations and in variety of a settings, from community clinics to SF General Hospital. He believes strongly in the importance of self-care, good friendships, and humor whenever possible.

Comments

TED MCCARTIN (not verified) says...

I found my last Enneagram Test (done through Truity of course) came up with a 4. I have always been a 1. And I do mean always.
On the MBTI I was individuating from an INTJ to an INFJ. At least Jung had an explanation for this, and it made sense.
Now I have to learn how to maximise being a 4. I hope I like as much as I did being a 1.

Lillian Golden (not verified) says...

Hi there,

I wanted to clarify that your type never changes. You are alway sthe same number, from the minute you are born your number never changes. Now, it may adapt and shift to look different overtime, but you are always the same number no matter what. I also wanted to put out there that the test is RARELY correct - I took the test three times and it gave me three different results before I finally decided to read several books about the enneagram and realized I was NONE of those three numbers it told me I was! So please never go according to what the test tells you - that really messes with people sometimes and gets them thinking that the test is always correct, which is far from true! 

I hope this helps!

 

Bree23232 (not verified) says...

Personality test results are just meant to be a starting point! The way you respond to test questions on any test may be influenced by all kinds of different factors and that can throw off your results. You could be super stressed out one time, super caught up with an emotional issue another time, or distracted and unfocused another time. So you're not meant to just accept your results as if they're fact without questioning them. You need to think about whether or not your results are a good fit for you. If they are, great. If not or if you're not sure, then think about what you agree and disagree with and consider the other types too. In your case, compare your new results to the type you thought you were before and see which one feels more like you. That process itself can be super helpful toward understanding yourself better. Once you find the type that fits you best, you should feel very confident that it's your type and you won't be so quick to toss it away if you get a different result on a test. 

KH (not verified) says...

I can see this as being true for me.  I have notes logged from ten years prior to this article showing I'm an Enneagram 1 and an INTJ on the Myers Briggs side.  I recently took both tests again this year to see if it's changed and I still came up as an Enneagram 1 and an INTJ.  I took that as a sign that yes I am indeed both all the way around through and through.  Note that I have changed within that time as I'm constantly changing, but the tests are so accurate that it reveals the base personality to stay the same even if I'm changing. 

If someone's test has changed, I'm sure there could be potential explainable reasons for that.  Perhaps they might not have been answering the questions as truthfully as possible or their opinions on answers shifted with maturity.  Who they are as they grow older is their base personality after seasons of maturity.  You have to really understand yourself to a high degree when taking these tests, which can happen with much self-reflection.  And don't think too much about which choice your choosing.   Other than that, I can't see how someone's base personality would change even if they've changed.

Lillian Golden (not verified) says...

If the test is different the second time, the test is most likely not correct. The test, wherever you take it, is never the best way to discover your enneagram type. It is a helpful tool that helps you see what you COULD be but is rarely correct. I found that the best way to discover my type was through several books rather than any of the online tests after it gave me three different answers three times I took it. 

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